Art: A LEGACY OF LAUGHTER

Of the ancient cultures that arose in Mexico long before the time of
Columbus, the Maya is the most renowned. But in the last decade, scholars have become increasingly entranced by
the people who once lived around the village of Remojadas near the
modern seaport of Veracruz. In speaking of these people, archaeologists
use the phrase "the smiling-face complex." for almost every clay figure
that is unearthed adds to a growing gallery of grins, chuckles,
chortles and belly laughs. A new book called More Human Than Divine,
published in both Spanish and English by the National University of
Mexico, tells in...